Skye

I've been very derelict in postings here...it's been a month. I'll try to catch up a few of the things I've been up too. I'm home in less than a week! Today, I'm on the Isle of Skye in Northwest Scotland...which I initially thought meant Big Sky - a la the American West, but which I've come to learn actually is a Norse word for somethings very different...cloudy or misty island. The term's fitting...today's a misty, rainy day, and I've cosied up in a little bar/cafe called the Well Plaid that is one of the few wifi hotspots out here (it's really amazing how interconnected the world is becoming, when I can be in as remote a place as this and still get my email and Michigan news clips from Phil Revard.)

I'm giving my back a break for a few days after playing 36 holes a day (54 one day!) most of the week. My next movetomorrow is down to a remote peninsula about 5 hours south of here...to play a course called Machrihanish on Sunday. Then it's back to civilization to the west coast near Glasgow on Monday and Tuesday, and back to Edinburgh on Tuesday night.

Skye is peaceful and rustic - lots of one-track roads and sheep - though not quite as untouched as the Isle of Mull, which I visited with my mom a few weeks back. I'll try to post as much as I can tonight...probably starting with the present and moving back...and maybe backdating some of the blog posts to keep them in chronological order. I took a lot of pictures on Skye...so I'll start with some of them.



The drive over to Skye from Dornoch, where I played golf in the morning, was filled with rustic highland beauty.



A loch (or lake) on the drive over to Skye.



The bridge to Skye was highly controversial when it was built. Many locals now say Skye is no longer an island.



The view from my hostel...an old Norse castle ruin from about 1000 years ago and some fishing boats.



Typical roadside hazards on Skye. Also gives you some perspective of the width of the one-track roads. You'll notice the little guy - it's lambing season so there are little ones everywhere out here.



Another little guy staring me down.



Not bad scenery for grass eating.



My ad for Ford...now that they announced a good quarter.



This is overlooking a little fishing village called Elgol on the western edge of Skye.



Elgol - overlooking the Black Cullins (a series of "hills" that make for good climbing.



Sun beginning to set over Elgol and the Atlantic...outer Hebrides Islands in the distance.



A sea loch (or fjord) on the way back from Elgol.





Sun setting over Cullin hills.



Roadside cemetary in the middle of nowhere...what must have been an old abbey ruins.



Closeup of a particularly striking headstone.



More sunset near Bradford.



Sunset reflection on my windshield...you can see my trusty road atlas and my baguette I've been munching on with Camembert cheese from France.




An old house on the coast.



Road leading to the coast.



Today - mist and waterfalls on the mystic isle.



The formation on the right is called the Old Man of Storr.



The Kilt Rock - a pretty impressive cliff face.



Some interesting rock formations.



Eileen Donan Castle. Couldn't go in because the MacRae Clan was having an event. Maybe Hal was in town.